Reflecting on the Eclipse from my Front Yard

Humanity has had a long connection to the sky, easily ignored in the modern urban world. But the eclipse helps rekindle our sense of wonder, as I describe in a new article in Quillette

(The view from my yard during the eclipse, as my telescope at lower left is fixed on it. )

Yesterday a miracle occurred. Not the eclipse, but the fact that here in PEI it was actually perfectly sunny, warm, and without wind—the first day since October that I can remember all those conditions at the same time. Historically there is a 32% chance of clear skies at this time in April, and last year there was snow on the ground. I have seen 4 eclipses now, but the luxury of being able to sit and host friends in our front yard as the Sun briefly became engulfed by the Sun’s shadow was such a privilege, that I know won’t be repeated in my lifetime. My dog Levi even got to experience it, though he didn’t seem as affected as I was.

Each time I have seen an eclipse, the experience has moved me in different ways. This time, I wrote down my reflections on our longstanding human connection to the cosmos in an article for Quillette.

Early Monday morning, I got my telescope out into the cold breezeway to acclimate to the temperature as I prepared to view that afternoon’s total eclipse of the sun. This was my fourth eclipse, but the excitement of seeing this remarkable event never seems to fade. This is the first time I was fortunate enough to be able to view it in my own backyard, and against all odds, here in eastern Canada it is a sunny day with no snow. Many of my friends and colleagues flew down to Texas for the event, but thundershowers obscured many viewing spots. In the meantime, I bundled up here, invited the neighbours and enjoyed the view from my yard. 

I live in the countryside, but my neighbour’s porch lights are invariably on at night, so while I am often treated to a beautiful view of the Milky Way overhead, I am rarely in total darkness. The light pollution is, of course, much worse in urban areas, where even on a clear night one might hope to see only the brightest stars and planets. It is therefore easy to forget our connection to celestial objects or how important that connection has been throughout human history…..

The rest of the article can be found on Quillette